Ever notice how bad law springs up out of tragic events?  Well, it may happen again.

I'm talking about the tragic helicopter crash in Phoenix AZ on Saturday.  Two news helicopters ran into each other while trying to get video coverage of a police car chase.  Four people, two in each helicopter, died in the crash.  See http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/94105 for more details.

Now, the press, and apparently some elements of officialdom, are talking about the possibility of bringing homicide charges against the fleeing suspect in the car chase.

Plainly put, that is absurd.

First, it's absurd on the technical, legal level.  Certainly, fleeing suspects are criminally responsible for the deaths of police officers who die chasing them.  That's because citizens have a duty to stop when police order them to stop, and fleeing, itself, is a crime.  But, citizens owe no such duty to members of the press.  Running away from the press is no crime.

On a deeper level, it's absurd because of the implied elevation in importance to be ascribed to the news media.  We live in a media rich environment.  We get used to seeing, hearing, and (God help us) even believing what we are told and shown on TV and radio.  But, we have to remember that these media people are not civil servants.  They are not employed to protect us.  We can't allow ourselves to become confused by the special status conveyed by their press passes, or their right to conceal sources, even from the law.  News people are not a specially protected class.  They are, simply, just like everyone else.

In Arizona, two helicopters crashed because one or both of the pilots wasn't paying attention to where he was going and what he was doing.  I'm not sure about aviation law, but on the highways, this kind of thing would appear to be reckless driving.  In such a case, where a crash resulted in deaths, the reckless driver would probably be charged with homicide.  And, that would be a sensible and proper result.

In the Arizona crash, both pilots are dead.  So, obviously, there will be no criminal charges brought against either of them.  But, that doesn't mean that charges should be brought against anyone else.